Visfatin levels in pulmonary disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundVisfatin has been demonstrated to have pro-inflammatory effects and is involved in several respiratory disorders, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and pneumonia. However, there are some inconsistent findings. This study aimed to assess the association between serum visfatin levels and COPD, pneumonia, asthma, interstitial lung disease (ILD), and bronchiectasis.MethodsA systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted following the Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) guidelines. PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched. Studies including a healthy control group and measuring serum visfatin in patients with COPD, asthma, pneumonia, bronchiectasis, or ILD were included. Stata 17 was used for data analysis.ResultsFourteen studies were included. None of them were on bronchiectasis. The analysis showed no significant difference between the COPD group and healthy controls in terms of serum visfatin levels (effect size = −0.02, %95CI: [−0.74, 0.69], p = 0.95). Similarly, analysis of visfatin levels in asthma studies showed no significant difference between patients and healthy controls (effect size = −1.51, %95CI: [−6.82, 3.79], p = 0.58). However, Serum visfatin levels were significantly higher in pneumonia patients compared to healthy controls (effect size = 1.93, %95CI: [0.91, 2.95], p < 0.01).ConclusionCirculating levels of visfatin may be associated with pneumonia, but not COPD or asthma. However, there are still few studies on the levels of visfatin in COPD, asthma, and pneumonia patients, and there is a need for further investigation.Systematic Review RegistrationPROSPERO, identifier (CRD42023441144).